My Father Cigars introduced the The Judge in 2016 with two sizes, grand robusto and toro, and added the toro fino in 2017. The Judge line is a line of all large vitolas with ring gauges of 52 and higher. The Judge was inspired by a friend of the Garcia family that is a judge and these cigars are larger and stronger than the original My Father lines. My local shops in Houston got these in, but I never tried them because I’m not a fan of large ring gauge cigars. As I started to see them pop up on other friend’s cigar blogs, I figured I should review them. My Father is one of the most popular cigar companies in the industry so I’ve also gotten a lot of request to review this one, especially after The Judge was Cigar Aficionado No. 7 Cigar of the Year for 2017.
- Vitola: Grand Robusto
- Size: 5 x 60
- Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
- Binder: Dual Nicaraguan Criollo and Corojo
- Filler: Nicaraguan tobacco from 3 different MFC farms
- MSRP: $12.50
- Purchase at Cigars of Tally in Tallahassee, FL
Appearance
The Judge is a very good looking cigar. The wrapper is very smooth with a walnut brown color and a soft box press. I used my Xikar VX cutter to cut a v in the cap and tested the draw. The Judge had great draw with notes of earth and a very strong cedar note.
First half
The Judge starts off with a mesquite wood flavor accompanied by white pepper. I also get some slight notes of pecans and leather. The cigar is very bitter to me with a slight sourness as well. It has a long finish, but that finish is where the bitter and sour mostly come in. So far, I’m not really a fan of this cigar.
Second half
The second half flavors remained the same except the cigar is now more bitter. The bitterness and sourness are to the point that I’m not enjoying the cigar at all. I got to the 2/3rds mark and quit.
Conclusion
The Judge is a perfect example of the diversity of cigar flavor profiles and people’s taste. I did not like this cigar at all. I really did not like the bitter and sourness The Judge had in its profile. There were glimmers of hope for me with the woody, spicy and pecan notes, but they couldn’t overcome what I didn’t like with it. The cigar was very well constructed and burned well. It’s is just one of those cigars that isn’t for me. It seems like it a love-hate cigar as I’ve talked to other cigars smokers and they either loved it or hated it. Again, this is why there are so many cigars on the market. Not everyone likes the same thing. For me, this is a pass.
